Tough luck, Zuck! Gen Z don’t think Meta billionaire Mark or Jeff Bezos are trustworthy… but would put their faith in Oprah and Bill Gates
- Poll asked Americans whether trusted the most well-known business figures
- Mark Zuckerberg was 60 per cent untrustworthy and Jeff Bezos 53 per cent
- Oprah fared better as 46 per cent of youngsters trusting her TV proclamations
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is about as popular with Generation Z as his social media site as only 23 per cent think he’s trustworthy.
Very few of the youngest adult cohort had anything good to say about him in a Business Insider YouGov popularity poll where 60 per cent found him untrustworthy.
Not doing much better is fellow tech titan Jeff Bezos, whom 53 per cent said was untrustworthy, and only 22 per cent had a favorable opinion. The rest didn’t know.
Capitalism personified, Bezos – formerly the world’s richest person – is a symbol of wealth, as well as negative news about his overworked employees.
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is about as popular with Generation Z as his social media site as only 23 per cent think he’s trustworthy
Fellow tech titan Jeff Bezos, who is so rich he flew himself into space, 53 per cent said was untrustworthy, and only 22 per cent had a favorable opinion
Oprah Winfrey, despite ending her regular show before the youngest Gen Z were even alive, was the best-loved ‘business icon’ in the survey.
Forty-six per cent of respondents said she was trustworthy, compared with 31 per cent who found her untrustworthy, and 23 per cent who didn’t know.
The Oprah Winfrey Show screened its last episode, but Gen Z likely saw her interviewing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Bill Gates, better known to youngsters for his philanthropy and promotion of the Covid vaccine than starting Microsoft, came off second best.
He was trusted by 41 per cent of respondents and only 35 per cent found him untrustworthy, with 23 per cent unsure.
Surprisingly well known were Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, with a 29 to 26 per cent split, and investment godfather Warren Buffet at 27 per cent each way.
Both businessmen had only 45 per cent of respondents unsure of how they felt about them.
The most polarizing of the group was, inevitably, Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk, whom just 16 per cent were unsure of how much they trusted him.
He fared better than Zuckerberg and Bezos with 34 per cent viewing him favorably, but a full half of respondents thought he was untrustworthy.
Musk’s name recognition stems from him being constantly in the news making controversial statements that people either love, or love to hate.
Oprah Winfrey, despite ending her regular show before the youngest Gen Z were even alive, was the best-loved ‘business icon’ in the survey
Bill Gates, better known to youngsters for his philanthropy and promotion of the Covid vaccine than starting Microsoft, came off second best to Oprah
Smartphone-obsessed teens were only vaguely aware of Apple boss Tim Cook, who garnered a 21 to 25 per cent split with the rest unsure.
Barely known at all were Disney chief executive Bob Iger, despite how many Gen Z watch his studio’s movies, at 18 to 21 per cent, and British businessman Richard Branson at 17 to 20 per cent.
Almost two-thirds of Gen Z were unsure if they trusted them – or more likely hadn’t even heard of them.
The YouGov survey run for Business insider polled more than 1,800 Americans spanning five generations, 600 of whom were from Gen Z.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had a 29 to 26 per cent split
